Author's Note:

Reviews and Comments: To PolarWriter95: Yes, Sirius definitely handed them their asses on a silver platter, didn't he? Thank you! To scrappy8: Thank you! To Steelcode: I am definitely sure Umbitch looked like a red bloated toad when Sirius stood up to her. Thank you! To Anon E Mus: Thank you! Don't worry, we see Ginny in this chapter. I have done a lot of thought about magical law. As to Ginny getting a belly button piercing, I did do this in my Beginning Series, but as for ASC, I don't have have any plans at the moment of giving her one, but you never know what the future will bring. Thank you! To nesciamema: Thank you! To Wolf's scream: Sirius is definitely a disruptive influence and I may steal that as I like it a lot. I did address Umbridge's intersection with international law. Thank you! To darkhk: Thanks for attempting the thumbs up emoji, LOL. To Shamelessnweird: Thank you! I will happily take awesome!

To Lauraf68: Thank you! Ha, the end was very climatic, wasn't it? I see what you did there LOL. To speedsONEandONLY: Sirius definitely had examples to prove his point and yes, Augusta is a force. Ha, Zee tell us how you really feel, oh, she did. (winks). Thank you. To E-Dett: Thank you! He definitely tore Umbitch's bill apart. Yes, the wand limit/regulation was a parallel to the gun control debate. As someone who lives on the border of the United States, it amazes me how one country can have so many weapons available, but that's why I'm not American, I don't get it LOL. Thank you. To coloredwords: Yes, it was a win and yes, the aftermath with Zee was definitely hot. Thank you for loving the way I use history like this. You thought someone was going to pull a big romantic gesture? Aww, sorry to disappoint. Thank you!

To AntiCreator: Thank you! It was fun showing Umbitch getting schooled. Thank you and thanks for the fic recommendation! To Ana: Thank you for saying this chapter impressed you. I love you for loving Zee! Thanks for reading! To alix33: Nice to see you're caught up again! Thanks for liking my organization of the Wizengamot to be similar to the British Parliament (and Canadian for the most part). Thank you! To Matt9917: Thank you! To Jmcglynn522: Thank you so much! I can't believe you read all of ASC in one day! You're a machine! Thank you!

Thank you to my Beta — SilverStarwolfe!

My posting schedule: Every Tuesday or Wednesday (usually the latter) and sometimes on the weekends.

As always, thank you very much for reading and please, please review!

Your reviews give me life! They give me inspiration! And they make me want to keep writing for more than just myself! Thank you for all of your continued support!

CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY-FIVE:

The One Where Harry Meets the Americans

Harry was grinning widely as he finished up Quidditch practice that night and saw Neville sitting in the stands waving him over. He put his broomstick over his shoulder and made his way over to his friend as the rest of his team headed over to the locker rooms.

"Hey, Nev!"

Neville beamed at him, holding out a towel wrapped around thick green leaves.

"You got them?" Harry exclaimed, excitement radiating through him.

Neville nodded, grinning back and opening the towel to show Harry the thick skins of the Mandrake leaves. "I did. I took one leaf from six different plants so that Sprout won't get suspicious. But, I'd say that they are definitely ready for us to start chewing."

"Excellent!" Harry said with a smile. "I can't wait to find out what kind of animal I am!"

Neville nodded eagerly. "Me neither. I hope I'm not a sloth or something."

"Sloths are pretty cute, mate."

Neville grinned. "And sloth-like."

Harry laughed. "Point taken."

Harry couldn't believe that Neville had finally procured the six of them Mandrake leaves. He was starting to get excited at the prospect of being able to turn into an animal and he wondered yet again what his animal would be.

"This is great, mate! Look, I'm going to go take a quick shower. Why don't you get the others and we'll meet up in the same empty classroom as last time in say, thirty minutes?"

Neville nodded, grinning widely. "Sounds great!"

Harry hurried off to the change rooms to shower, a spring in his step. The idea of starting the Animagus transformation was something that he had been desperately looking forward to. He took a quick shower; amused at the sight of Oliver and Alicia snogging against one of the cubbies as he grabbed his things and made his way out onto the pitch towards the exit.

He spotted Ginny in the stands and flagged her down.

"Hey, what are you doing out here?"

She shoved her gloved hands into the pockets of her coat and blew her hair out of her eyes from under her dark brown knit cap. "I was studying for my History of Magic test and thought that if I looked at one more date my head would explode. Then I remembered how you said that we could practice my shield charm and I figured you were just about finished with Quidditch anyway so, I came to find you. Fred and George said that you were on your way out."

He grinned at her, laughing when she shivered under a big gust of wind and he wrapped an arm around her shoulders, holding her closer to him as they headed towards the castle together.

"Change of plans on the shield charm practice. Neville got the Mandrake leaves."

Ginny's eyes widened in delight as they walked towards the castle. "I thought that he said that they wouldn't be ready for another week?"

"He didn't want to get our hopes up in case they weren't ready for this month. He said something about that week of warm weather back in February having nudged things along."

"Brilliant! Wish that warm weather would come back. It is spring now after all."

"Yeah, me too," he said. "I told him to find everyone and have them meet in the same place as last time."

Ginny grinned widely. "I can't wait to get started on this. Do you think the leaves taste disgusting?"

Harry grimaced. "I'm pretty much assuming yes."

She made a face and he laughed as they stepped through the front doors. She tugged her hat off once they reached the warmth of the castle, shaking her long hair out and making him laugh. He followed her up the stairs and around to the abandoned classroom where his friends were already waiting for them.

Harry and Ginny tugged off their winter coats and gloves before Harry hopped up onto the desk next to Ron. "Did Neville fill everyone in?"

Ron grinned widely. "Yeah, he did. I'm kind of nervous, is that weird?"

Luna shook her head. "You have a strategic mind, nervous is irrelevant."

"Er, thanks Luna," he said, exchanging a look with Harry.

Harry grinned at his friends. "So, as you know, this is a slow process. Uncle Siri told me that it took them months to make any progress at all. The most important thing is actually the potion. It takes a month to brew and it must coincide with our chewing of the Mandrake leaves which we chew until the next full moon and then add them to our potions. Then our potions must be left completely undisturbed in a dark place until the next lightning storm."

Hermione nodded, her fingers tapping on the desk next to her. "The batch also only makes enough for approximately one mouthful which means that we will need to make six separate batches which also means that getting ingredients may be tricky."

Harry shook his head. "No, it won't be. I've been getting them ready for us. Hagrid helped me procure the Death's-Head Hawk Moth Chrysalis which is the hardest to find, but I got six of them with his help. He pretty much can find anything. The tricky part is getting the dew."

"It has to be fresh and it cannot have been exposed to either human feet or sunlight for at least an entire week," Hermione recited, her brow furrowing.

"Hagrid can help us there again. Uncle Siri said that he's the one who told my Dad of a spot in the Forbidden Forest where one can find it. Spring is officially here even though it certainly doesn't feel like it, but it should be all over the place within a week or so and we don't need it until the last week before we add the leaves anyway, which shouldn't be until the twenty-fifth of April," Harry told them.

Luna looked thoughtful for a moment. "Where are we going to hide six separate potions?"

Ginny smiled at her friend. "I know the perfect place," she grinned at Harry from across the room. "Where we spoke after the holiday."

He grinned widely. "That would be perfect." He looked at his friends. "It's a dark alcove hidden behind a statue. It leads to Hogsmeade actually, but Fred and George told me that it's caved in at the end so no one ever goes in there. We can put up a privacy bubble and hide them there."

Hermione beamed at him. "That sounds perfect!"

"In the meantime, we have to chew these," he said gesturing to the large Mandrake leaves. Each leaf was about the size of a slice of a bread. "We need to chew the entire leaf for one moon cycle. It has to stay in our mouths at all times including when we are sleeping or eating. We cannot remove it for any reason before the designated time or we'll be forced to start all over again. We can use a sticking charm for when we're eating and sleeping, but we will need to keep chewing it otherwise."

Everyone nodded in acknowledgement.

Neville moved to unwrap the towel full of the Mandrake leaves. "I have six leaves here. If everyone is ready, we can put them in our mouths now."

Harry reached forward first, grinning at his friends as he picked up the leaf. He put the end in his mouth, scrunched it into a ball and wrapped his lips around it. It was more chewy than he had expected and to his surprise, tasted weirdly like salted seaweed, while at the same time remaining very bland. He sucked on it and shrugged his indifference as Ginny reached for hers next. Soon all six of them had their mouths full of Mandrake leaves.

Ron made a face of disgust. "It makes me want to vomit."

Hermione nodded, shuddering. "The way it slides across your tongue; it has such a rough texture."

Neville shrugged. "It tastes funny, but not as bad as I expected."

Luna simply chewed hers, thoughtfully. "It has a sticky texture once you put it in your mouth. I bet it will stick to the roof of our mouths on its own when we eat and sleep."

Harry nodded. "Possibly. But I think that I might use a sticking charm when I'm eating and sleeping just to be safe. I wouldn't want to accidentally swallow it or choke on it."

"Are we all going to brew the potion together?" Ginny asked.

Neville looked panicked. "I'm not the best at potions."

"Hermione and I will brew them. We can start tomorrow?" At her nod, Harry grinned. "Tomorrow then, after lunch."

Ginny sucked on hers for a moment before turning to Harry. "Are you still up for practicing that shield charm with me?"

"I think I'd like to practice, too. It will take my mind off of keeping this gross thing in my mouth," Ron said.

They all agreed to work on their spells from Defence Club and Harry grinned as he watched his friends practice. He worked on his own shield, annoyed when it only extended over his head and not around his entire body. Not to mention that he still had to figure out how to keep his shield in place and perform other spells at the same time; that was trickier then one would think. He would get there, he told himself, he just needed some more time and some more practice.

~ ASC ~

In Transfiguration on Monday, Harry debated about whether or not to tell Professor McGonagall about the Animagus potion. He wanted to be successful at it and most importantly, he wanted her to know that he could do it as there was no one as talented at the subject as her in his opinion, but he wasn't sure how to tell her that they had started it without her permission and not get into trouble.

He sucked on his leaf enthusiastically. After almost three days it still tasted the same, which surprised him, but he felt like the texture wasn't as rough in his mouth. He needed to ask McGonagall about dropping his Care of Magical Creatures class as well and possibly switching over to Arithmancy, which he had been procrastinating about doing. He had spent part of the weekend going over the textbook and he had to admit, it rather fascinated him. The patterns in the numbers and the way that magic could use numerology was intriguing. He wanted to learn more about it.

He finished turning his kettle into a turtle as the charm went off signalling the end of class and McGonagall asked him to stay behind.

He waved goodbye to Ron and Neville who were heading to Muggle Studies and he made his way up to McGonagall's desk. Nyx was lying under her desk, her red feathered tail wrapped around her body. She had already grown quite a lot and within another month or two would probably be fully grown. Her soft fur the colour of sunlight striped with dark black made her look every inch the dangerous tiger. He bent down to scratch her behind the ears.

She growled and then recognized him and leaned into his hand, happily purring.

"You wanted to see me, Auntie Minnie?"

She hid her smile as her eyes met his. "It's Professor, not auntie, Harry, we're at school."

He grinned at her, keeping his mouth closed as he did so. "Sorry, Auntie Minnie."

McGonagall rolled her eyes. "Sometimes you are so much like Sirius that I don't know whether to give you detention or a hug."

He smirked. "I'd prefer the hug if I get a choice. Detention is a lot more time consuming."

She chuckled and rested her bum back against her desk. "You are definitely the son of a Marauder. How does the Mandrake taste?"

Harry's eyes widened in surprise. "Wh-what?"

She smiled at him. "I am the Transfiguration teacher, Harry. When Pomona mentioned that she thought some of her Mandrakes had less leaves I wondered on it, but as I watched you today in class, I knew it. Like father like son, I suppose. I knew those boys were doing the same thing, doing it for Remus, and I had never been so touched by anything in my life. I helped Hagrid find some ingredients for them, not that they ever knew, and when Hagrid mentioned in passing that he was procuring some Death's-Hawk Moth Chrysalis well, my mind began to wonder once more."

Harry grinned at her. "No, they never knew that you knew. You've known since the beginning."

She nodded. "Yes. Remus doesn't know this. Actually, I don't believe anyone does, but I used to sit in the shack in my cat form and watch over him when he changed. There was nothing that I could do for him and I knew it, but I always felt like my presence helped him in some way. Then one full moon, I saw a big black dog, a little rat, and a white stag and I knew that those boys had succeeded; that they had done that for him. I knew that he would be in safe hands from then on."

Harry smiled at her as he chewed thoughtfully on his leaf. "I want to help Uncle Rem. I want to be able to stay with him if he needs me to, but I also want to be able to turn into an animal. You make a great cat, Auntie Minnie, and I can't wait to find out what animal I will be."

McGonagall smiled at him. "Thank you. Now, am I right in assuming that you are not doing this alone? I imagine Mr Weasley, Miss Granger, and Mr Longbottom are all part of this as well?"

Harry nodded. "And Ginny and Luna."

She smiled at him. "You have very good friends, Harry."

"I know. Hermione and I started the potion on Saturday. We have it hidden in a dark enclosed space. With it being spring, I figured Hagrid could help me find some fresh dew."

McGonagall smiled. "I'm sure that he can. It sounds like you have everything under control."

He beamed at her. "I feel like I do. We only just started with the Mandrake leaves on Friday night."

McGonagall nodded. "As I'm sure you've noticed, it takes a lot of time and effort, but if you are determined to do it, you will succeed. You are growing into your power quite well, Harry, and I would be honoured to help you with your Animagus transformation or with anything else that you would like my help with."

"Thanks, Auntie Minnie and don't worry, we want to do it right and register our forms with the Ministry."

She smiled at him. "Good. I would hope that you had learned from your godfather's mistake in that regard. I will gladly sign for the six of you as your teacher on the registration forms. Speaking of, did Sirius tell you what he accomplished in the Wizengamot on Friday afternoon?"

Harry nodded, beaming at her. After talking to his godfather on the weekend, he still couldn't believe it. Sirius had decimated the bill and was now holding his position in the Wizengamot as Lord Black. He had been incredibly impressed and bursting with pride at the thought that his godfather had helped succeed in smashing such a terrible piece of legislation to pieces.

"He did. It sounds like he was amazing. I wish I would have seen it. Zee told me that he was incredible."

"He should be very proud of himself. It's taken a while, but he's finally growing into the man that I always knew he would be one day."

Harry smiled at her. "I'm just glad that the bill was thrown out, though Uncle Siri said that it will probably come back around to be voted on as it was never officially passed by the Wizengamot and therefore can still be in circulation in the Assembly until it is officially voted in or not. But he seems pretty optimistic that no one is going to approve it when it does."

McGonagall nodded. "I agree."

"There is something else that I wanted to ask you, Auntie Minnie," he said, shifting on his feet. "I don't know if Hagrid mentioned it at all, but I think that I want to drop Care of Magical Creatures class."

"Oh?" McGonagall said in surprise, crossing her arms in front of her. "Are you not enjoying the class?"

Harry shook his head. "The class is great. I mean, the animals are fun and Hagrid is so enthusiastic that it's hard not to smile, but I don't really feel like it's a class for me. I'm not… challenged, and Uncle Rem is always telling me how important it is to strive to be the best that I can be and to work hard and to challenge myself. I don't think that Hagrid's class gives me that opportunity, and I know that the school year is almost over, but would it be possible? Or at least for the new year, if not for the rest of the term?"

She smiled warmly at him. "You remind me of your mother so much sometimes."

Harry looked at her in surprise. "I do?"

She nodded. "Lily said almost the same speech to me when she signed up for Care of Magical Creatures. It wasn't enough of a challenge for her. She was already in Ancient Runes so, I suggested Arithmancy. She was less than thrilled when I had your father tutor her."

Harry grinned. "My Dad tutored her?"

"Just for a few weeks to help her catch up. Your mother was very intelligent, one of the brightest witches that I ever taught," McGonagall told him honestly. "She made it seem effortless, but she was always very diligent in her studies."

He grinned at her. "I was actually thinking of switching to Arithmancy as well. I've always been fairly good with numbers and looking at the textbook, I think it looks quite interesting and I really love Ancient Runes already. I have no interest in Divination and Uncle Sirius says that he would ground me if I subjected myself to it."

McGonagall snorted. "What a preposterous thing to say!"

"Do you think that I should take Divination, Auntie Minnie?"

"Absolutely not! It's complete rubbish, but that's beside the point!"

Harry smirked at that. "It doesn't interest me anyway, Auntie Minnie. But Arithmancy sounds like it could be something challenging."

McGonagall smiled at him. "Let me talk to Professor Vector and see what she thinks about taking on another student. In the meantime, I would like you to take an exam for Care of Magical Creatures just for credit. You've done three quarters of the year and deserve to be acknowledged for that work. I will speak to Professor Hagrid about getting one ready for you."

"So, I can actually transfer before next year?"

She grinned at him. "Of course you can, as long as you're willing to put in the work." She turned to her desk to scribble a note. "Here, you can give this note to Professor Birmingham to explain your tardiness. I will let you know what the plan is."

"Thanks, Auntie Minnie," he nodded at the tin on the corner of her desk. "May I have a biscuit?"

McGonagall chuckled and slid the bin over to him. "Oh, go ahead."

He helped himself to a ginger biscuit, grinning widely.

He filled Ron, Hermione, and Neville in on his talk with McGonagall at lunch and Ron frowned at him. "So you're really dropping Care of Magical Creatures, then?"

Harry nodded, helping himself to some mashed potatoes and using his tongue to stick the Mandrake leaf up to the roof of his mouth before adding a sticking charm. It sometimes slipped out and he hated how it affected the taste of his food as he attempted to stick it back in place and not swallow it.

"I am. Auntie Minnie says that I don't have to attend class anymore either. She is going to ask Professor Vector to give me an overview of the material, but I told her that I was sure that Hermione would share her notes with me."

Hermione beamed at him. "Of course I will! Oh, Harry, you're going to love it! It's rather wonderful and Professor Vector makes it such fun!"

Harry grinned at her. "I'm sure I will. We can talk about it later, Hermione, for now, can you pass me the ham?"

~ ASC ~

Harry grinned when Persephone landed in front of him during breakfast the next morning. He stroked her wing affectionately, offering her some of his bacon as he unhooked the letter and quickly used his breakfast knife to slit it open. He grinned when he recognized Zee's writing instead of his father's loopy cursive.

Harry,

I am turning thirty next week. Scary, I know, the big three-oh, but I am — and my family is coming to celebrate with me. Sirius gets rather skittish whenever I mention meeting my family so, I thought that I would address it to you before I even tell him. My grandparents are coming in on Sunday from the American state of Georgia and I would love it if you would come over for dinner on the Monday and meet them, just you actually. I feel like I'd rather enjoy springing my entire family on Sirius all at once on my actual birthday. They're very excited to meet you as I've told them all about you and Sirius.

On the following Saturday, we're having a little party at my Scottish grandparents house in Edinburgh and I hope that you will attend. All of my family will be there and it won't feel right if that family doesn't include you and Sirius. I can even bribe you with the promise of fantastic food, fantastic company, and with the fact that my Papa might have some spells to teach you. He's a powerful Auror in the Russian Ministry.

I hope to see you soon and to hear back from you.

Love,

Zee

Xoxo

Harry grinned down at the letter, the warm feeling inside of him keeping the smile firmly on his face. Zee wanted him to meet her family and she had told them all about him. He read the letter a second time, the idea of Sirius being skittish was something he knew was a fact. He was honoured that she wanted him to meet her grandparents before Sirius did. He chuckled at the idea of Sirius getting her entire family sprung on him at once. When he read it a third time, Hermione leaned her head over.

"What has you grinning so big, Harry?"

He passed her the letter, the back of his neck flushing.

Hermione read it quickly and then grinned widely. "Harry, this is wonderful! Of course, you should go!" Her voice came out a little slurred and he grinned, even after almost a week, Hermione still hadn't mastered talking with the Mandrake leaf in her mouth.

He nodded, his eyes on the letter in her hand. "I didn't even know her birthday was coming up."

Hermione smiled at him, her tongue moving the leaf into her cheek. "If it's next Saturday, that would make her birthday the ninth of April. You'll have to get her something special then; something from the heart."

Harry's brow furrowed. "What does that even mean, Hermione?"

She grinned at him. "Ginny and I will help you. There's a Hogsmeade trip on that Saturday, we can find something before her party."

He simply nodded, grinning at her in thanks.

~ ASC ~

Harry was nervous when he made his way down to McGonagall's office the next Monday after class. His stomach churned nervously at the idea of meeting these people whom Zee had been telling all about him.

McGonagall side Apparated him to Zee's cottage, telling him that Zee would bring him back later that night and he hurried up the drive to knock on her front door. She pulled it open with a big smile.

"Harry! Thanks so much for coming!"

He only nodded, the butterflies in his stomach intensifying as she ushered him inside. "Yeah, sure, um, thanks for having me. Did you invite Uncle Sirius?"

She beamed at him and kissed his cheek. "No, I didn't. I decided that if he's going to panic every time I mention my family then I'm going to make him meet all of them at once at my birthday on Saturday."

Harry laughed. "I didn't think that you were serious about that. That's going to be great! Please let me be there when he arrives!"

She grinned at him. "I will. But until then, my American grandparents have come to stay with me for the week and I really wanted you to meet them. I know Mondays are one of the only days of the week that you don't have Quidditch practice or Defence Club. They're in the kitchen."

She held her hand out to him and when he accepted it she beamed.

Zee led him into the kitchen, tucking her arm into his. The couple sitting there were both smiling widely. The man had tanned weathered skin, snow-white hair and a big moustache and full beard. His eyes were a bright crystal blue and he wore faded denim jeans and a flannel shirt rolled up at the elbows. The woman next to him was stunning. Her hair was salt and pepper, cut short, and waved around her face. Her dark eyes were smiling at him.

"Grandma, Grandpa, this is Harry. Harry, these are my grandparents Colten and Florence Jackson. They came to visit me from Georgia and prefer to be called Colt and Flo."

Colten stood up, his hand outstretched to grip Harry's tightly. "It's nice to meet you, young man! Zahira has told us all about you and your talent on the Quidditch pitch! I hear that you're one hell of a Seeker!"

Harry grinned, shaking the man's hand. "Thank you, Sir. Zee talks about you two all of the time as well."

Florence moved over to him, her dark hands framing his face and to Harry's surprise she kissed both of his cheeks. She was the same height as him, surprising him by her height, considering Zee was so short.

"It's lovely to meet you at last, Harry!" She hugged him tight and he found himself smushed against her ample bosom. She smelt like biscuits and vanilla, he thought.

"Thank you, Mrs Jackson."

Florence scoffed at him. "None of that! Grandma and Grandpa, dear, we'll answer to absolutely nothing else."

He blushed when she kissed his cheeks noisily again and urged him to sit down at the table.

"I took over Zahira's kitchen and have fresh cookies with more to come. Sit down and have one, dinner's almost ready."

Colt nodded at him, smiling widely.

Harry, completely bewildered by them, did as they instructed and the moment the warm cinnamon biscuit touched his lips, his mouth watered. They were incredible.

"He's skinny, Zahira!" Florence exclaimed, moving to the counter to finish rolling the dough. "Are you not feeding him enough?"

Harry smirked and took a second biscuit. "I eat lots, Mrs Jackson. Hogwarts provides lots of good food as well."

"Grandma," she corrected, smiling at him. "I remember that age. Boys eat you out of house and home and barely gain an ounce! It's sickening."

Colt grinned and pat his flat stomach. "I still eat like that. Flo hates it."

Harry grinned and watched in fascination as Florence Jackson used her wand to make delicious cornbread and the smell wafted through the kitchen, making his stomach grumble. Fifteen minutes later, she had four plates of steaming food spread out on the dinner table and his mouth watered. He eagerly took a bite of the cornbread, sighing in satisfaction at the taste of it.

"This is delicious," he told her.

Florence smiled. "Thank you. I'm known for my cornbread."

"She really is," Zee said with a smile as she helped her grandmother spread the thick homemade barbecue sauce on the ribs before she added them to everyone's plate. "It's never as good when I make it. Grandma has the magic touch."

"That she does," Colt said with a smile. "My Flo is a wonder." He grinned at Harry as his wife and granddaughter sat down at the table. "Harry, Zee tells us that you're a pretty great chef yourself."

He shrugged, digging into his plate of barbecue sauced ribs, fresh cornbread, and steamed vegetables covered in garlic butter and herbs. "I like to cook and everything always turns out pretty well, I guess. Zee's been teaching me."

"She's a great teacher," Flo said with a smile. "I taught her myself."

Harry grinned as he ate. It all tasted incredible and he wished that he could spit out the Mandrake leaf so that he could enjoy his meal to its fullest, but he carefully stuck the leaf to the roof of his mouth as he ate.

"What do you want to be when you grow up, Harry?" Flo asked.

He shrugged again. "I don't know. Maybe a professional Quidditch player or an Auror, maybe. I haven't really thought about it. Uncle Sirius says that I can do anything I want and I know that when I turn seventeen I can claim the Potter seat in the Wizengamot, but I don't know if I want to do that either. Or I can do that and still work of course, so I don't really know."

Colt smiled warmly. "An Auror, eh? Isn't that like a policeman? That's what Misha does?" At his wife's nod, he grinned. "Excellent choice, then. I'm a chief myself."

Harry's eyes widened. "You are?"

Colt grinned. "I am. Been the Police Chief of the Toccoa Police Department in Georgia for going on fifteen years now. I love every damn minute of it."

"But he's thinking about retiring soon," Florence added making her husband roll his eyes.

"Flo, I'm only seventy-three."

"And should be thinking about retirement," she said, sternly.

Colt grinned and smiled when Zee kissed his cheek. "What should I retire for? My only granddaughter lives all the way across the damn ocean!"

Zee smirked at him. "Nice try, Grandpa. Besides, if you retire, you can come and see me more often."

Colt rolled his eyes and Harry chuckled.

Florence served them more cornbread. She beamed at Harry when he asked for seconds and stacked his plate with more ribs and vegetables as Colt told him all about their life in America. Harry learned that Colt and Flo had been married for forty-three years. Flo had come from a pureblood line of witches and wizards, whose grandparents had come from France to settle in Georgia in the late 1800s. She had met Colten Jackson at a dance and had fallen in love with his charm. Her parents had warned her against it. He was a Muggle and a white man at that, in a time and place where them even being seen together was frowned upon, and it was illegal for a witch to marry a No-Maj on top of it.

But they fell in love despite it all.

She was seventeen, he was twenty, and they married in secret and moved into a tiny farmhouse in Toccoa. He became a police officer, she opened a little restaurant. He discovered that she was a witch and thought she was mad until their newborn daughter, Magnolia, started making strange things happen around the house.

When their daughter turned twenty-one, she went on a trip to Paris to visit some relatives there with her best friend Violet. She met Misha Zacarias, who was also twenty-one and working undercover on an assignment for the Russian Ministry following a Russian criminal who was working with the Paris mafia. Within six months, they were married and living in Russia. Two years later, Zahira was born and six years after that, Magnolia Jackson Zacarias was killed by an assassin. Zahira was sent to live with Colt and Flo for protection for almost a year and when Misha finally came for his daughter, he knelt before her, wrapped her tight in his arms and sobbed like a child as Zee kissed his cheek and told him that it would all be okay. A year after that, Misha married Sorcha Brown and Zee was lucky enough to have a mother again as well as a new set of amazing grandparents in Callum and Fiona Brown along with aunts, uncles and new cousins to play with.

Colt sat on the sofa in Zee's bright living room with Harry telling him all about his life as a police officer in Georgia: What his job entailed and what kind of stories he had (including helping drunks get home, bar fights, robberies, and sometimes just being there to listen to someone who needed an ear). Flo told him about her restaurant: How she served from seven to seven, six days a week and how tourists came from all over the world, both Muggle and Magical to eat at Flo's. She promised to show him how to bake her famous cornbread along with her Mud Pie, which she had made for dessert and Harry had gladly eaten two pieces of the incredible chocolate pie with glee.

He grinned at Zee as she told her grandparents about Harry's Quidditch game and about his new Firebolt, explaining how he had ducked under the other team's Seeker and literally stole the Snitch from right under her nose. Harry found himself telling them all about his friends: About Neville and his love of plants, Hermione, how she was the brightest witch of her age and her mysterious disappearing act lately, Ron and his Quidditch obsession and his skill at chess, Luna and her rather odd thoughts and beliefs, and Ginny and how she always made him smile and how he was teaching her the spells they learned in Defence Club. He told them that he was learning how to become an Animagus and that Sirius had taught him how to ride a motorcycle. He told them about Marauder and Hedwig and Colt said that they had three big dogs at their farmhouse: A Saint Bernard named Bruno, a Beagle named Lucy, and a Newfoundland named Chief. They also had one cat that was black and white and part Kneazle named Checkers and a black cat named Smokey.

Colt taught him how to play gin rummy and Zee showed Harry how to incorporate the Exploding Snap cards into the deck, making her grandfather laugh when his cards blew up. Flo learned he loved red and promised to knit him a sweater.

By the first hour, Harry was in love with them.

By the end of the night, he didn't want them to leave.

He had never met such amazing people and they genuinely seemed to like him. Flo kissed his cheeks, hugged him tight, and Colt pat him on the back, squeezing his shoulder tightly and urged him to write; telling him they looked forward to seeing him again on Saturday.

Zee side Apparated with Harry back into Hogsmeade and smiled at him. "Well, I'm biased — I know, but aren't they great?"

Harry beamed at her, surprised to find moisture in his eyes. "They're amazing! They really want me to call them Grandma and Grandpa?"

Zee smiled at him, slipping an arm around his waist as they walked. "They really do, sweetie. Grandpa says that I talk about you so much that he feels like he already knows you and he's always wanted a boy around and a great-grandson is exactly what he needs. Grandma is just excited to share her knowledge with someone. This summer, maybe we can take a trip to Georgia to see them and you can see Grandma's restaurant and see where my mother grew up. It's really quite wonderful there. I'd love the opportunity to show it to you and to Sirius."

They reached the bridge to Hogwarts by this time and Harry smiled at her. "I'd really like that. Can I really write to them?"

Zee grinned. "Harry, I can promise you, if you don't write to them by the end of the month, Grandma will probably send you a Howler."

He laughed. "I promise to write them soon."

Zee tugged his face down to her level and kissed his forehead, gently brushing her fingers through his messy hair. "Good. Ask Auntie Minnie if you can come home this weekend. We can spend Saturday with them before they head home."

"Uncle Siri, too?"

Zee grinned. "Most definitely. You can help me get him there. He hasn't met them yet and gets strangely skittish over the concept of meeting anyone from my family, which is why I thought that you should meet them first so, you can tell him how nice they are. I'm turning thirty and it's rather a daunting concept for me already without having to worry about my cowardly boyfriend."

Harry smiled at her. "Your parents will be there?"

"Yes, and my Mama's parents and her brother and his family and Papa says that he's going to try to convince Baba and Deda to come as well, but they very rarely leave Russia. Baba and Deda are both Muggles too, like Grandpa. But my dad's siblings and their spouses and kids are all magical. It should be a full house."

Harry simply grinned at her. "You're lucky to have such a big family."

Zee pulled him close for a hug. "I know, which is why I want you to love them as much as I do and for them to love you as much, too. I want them to be your family as well."

Harry hugged her back, smiling when she brushed his messy hair out of his eyes. "I can't wait to meet them."

She kissed his forehead again. "Good. Talk to Minerva, but I hope to see you at twelve on Saturday. Owl me when you talk to her. Goodnight, Harry."

"Goodnight, Zee." He turned to go and then stopped, emerald green eyes on hers for a moment. "Zee, you shouldn't tell Uncle Sirius at all. Just have him show up and be surprised. It might be the only way you can actually get him there."

Zee chuckled. "You might be right."

Harry grinned. "See you on Saturday."

As he made his way back to the castle, he realized that meeting Zee's grandparents had been more than just wonderful. He felt like they were part of his family and he couldn't wait to meet the rest of her family. Instead of going back to his dorm, he hurried to Remus' suite and let himself inside.

Remus looked up in surprise from where he was sitting on the sofa with a book. Tonks was spread out next to him, her head in his lap and her arms wrapped around his waist as she slept deeply. "Harry! It's late. Is everything okay, Little Prongs?"

Harry nodded and sat next to his uncle on the arm of the sofa. "Everything is brilliant, Uncle Moony. I don't want to wake Tonks."

He smiled and shifted, lifting his mate up into his arms and carrying her into the bedroom. He returned a few minutes later, closing the bedroom door behind him and sitting on the sofa. "She's out cold. What's going on? It's after midnight."

Harry simply grinned, moving to sit next to his father as he told Remus all about Colt and Flo, beaming the whole time. "They want me to call them Grandma and Grandpa!"

Remus draped and an arm around Harry's shoulders. "Of course they do! They know how much Zee loves you and Sirius, Harry. They want the opportunity to love you as well."

"Zee loves me?" Harry asked in surprise.

Remus smiled at him. "And you love her, too. I can see that. I think you started falling for her a long time ago. Maybe even as far back as Peter's trial; she was very supportive of both you and Uncle Sirius. She's pretty great, isn't she?"

He nodded, thinking about what his uncle was saying. He did love Zee, he thought. The thought of her not being around hurt him and he knew that he loved having her around for not only his father, but for himself as well. She was a wonder and he wanted her to stick around.

"Is she going to move in with us?"

Remus grinned. "That depends on you and Sirius, doesn't it? Do you want her to move in with you two?"

"I don't know, maybe. I like having her around."

Remus smiled. "Padfoot and the word 'commitment' is something else entirely so we'll have to see about that, but you liking her is a good thing, Harry."

He shrugged and fidgeted nervously for a moment. "It's kind of like she's… I mean, I know I don't need…"

"Like a mum?" Remus said with a smile, kissing Harry's cheek. "No matter how big you get, Harry James, everyone wants a mum. I miss mine every day and I miss your grandmother something fierce too. She was my second mum; adopted Sirius, Peter, Lily, and I whether we wanted it or not — and when my mother died, Euphemia Potter cradled me like a child and comforted me like a mum. I was nineteen years old. You are never too old to want a mum."

Harry smiled at that. "Yeah?"

"Yeah," he said with a grin. "It's late. Come on; I'll walk you back to Gryffindor Tower so that you don't get detention."

He smirked. "It's okay. I have my cloak."

"Of course you do," Remus said on a laugh. "Straight to Gryffindor Tower, Little Prongs."

Harry just grinned as he covered himself with his invisibility cloak. "Yes, Uncle Moony."